Mr. Erik Solheim, Norway's minister of the environment and international development, is visiting China this week. His host is China's Ministry of Environmental protection (MEP), which was established in March 2008 when the former State Environmental Protection Agency's (SEPA) status was raised to that of a ministry.
- A fantastic opportunity
On the first day of his visit, on Monday June 30th, mr. Solheim met with China's Minister of the Environment mr. Zhou Shengxian to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on environmental cooperation. The agreement between the Norwegian and Chinese Ministries of Environmental Protection includes air, water, biological diversity, climate change and environmental technology. It is a renewal of the cooperation agreement signed with SEPA in 1995. The new agreement establishes a yearly environmental dialogue between the two Ministries.
- Norway and China have now confirmed and strengthened the open dialogue on environmental issues. For a small country like Norway, this is a fantastic opportunity and a task which we will fulfil to the best of our abilities, Minister Solheim said after the meeting.
Positive trend
In the meeting, the Norwegian Minister underlined the importance of the fact that China has decoupled economic growth from pollution. Historically, in most countries, emissions have risen in parallel with economic growth. But reports from 2007 show that in China, economic growth has continued at the same time as there has been a decrease in emissions. Minister Solheim congratulated his colleague on China's achievement, and remarked that he hopes this trend will continue.
Diverse program
Minister Solheim's program is very diverse. In addition to having political meetings, he visited China Red Cross to learn about the relief work after the earthquake in Sichuan on May 12th, and met with Chinese students studying Norwegian language.
From Beijing, mr. Solheim moves on to Shanxi, where he visits a coal mine and learns about China's coal industry. Thursday, July 3rd, he is in Guangzhou to open the new Norwegian Consulate General there.
Click here to read the agreement: open the new Norwegian Consulate General there.
Click here to read the agreement: MoU on Environmental Cooperaton. English.doc